Building construction



May 30, 1939. T. L. WOLFE 2,160,773

, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 24, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 30, 1939. T. L. WOLFE BUILDING CONSTRUCTiON 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1938 INVENTOR' ATTORNEYS mom/a6 L. 1 1 0 9 WITNESS Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFIQE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to building construction and has for an object to provide a system of standard precast interlocking concrete slabs for use as units in the erection of walls and other structures to promote strength, decrease weight,

and economize in cost of labor and materials.

A further object is to provide novel precast slabs each having a plane outer side and a transversely curved inner side and having the ends at its inner side rabbeted so that when the slabs are assembled the curved inner sides form air shafts or pockets and the rabbets form grooves.

A further object is to provide reinforcing wires for the slabs, the same having looped ends arranged within the rabbets and through which steel bars are adapted to be inserted, the reinforcing wires being inclined slightly with relation to the horizontal axis of the slab and those portions of the reinforcing wires within the rabbets being crimped after passage of the bars through the loops to tie the slabs together.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a perspective View of one size of slab used in the wall construction.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of another size of slab which is twice the length of the slab shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of a wall constructed of the slabs shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a Figure 3. I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of the wall with portions broken away to expose the reinforcing wires.

45 Figure 6 is a vertical section of the wall showplan view of the wall shown in ing the vertical air shafts formed by the trans-- versely curved faces of the slabs.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the key applied for forming the crimp in the reinforcing wires.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of one of the slabs showing the crimp formed therein by the key.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the template used to form the looped ends of the reinforcing wires.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, Ill designates a concrete 5 slab having a plane outer side H and a transversely curved inner, that is, half oval side E2. The ends iii of the slab are rabbeted as shown at E3. The slabs are preferably formed in two standard sizes, one size being half the length of the 10 other size, as best shown in Figures 1 and 2 to facilitate assembling in the wall and to break the joints in the horizontal courses.

The slabs are so disposed in the wall that the curved oval face of an inner slab confronts the 15 half oval face of the outer slab of each individual vertical column of slabs, as best shown in Figure 4, so that oval air channels l5 are produced. The abutting rabbeted ends of four adjoining slabs in a horizontal direction form ver- 20 tical channels it to receive tie elements for locking the flaps together.

Reinforcing wires I! are disposed in each slab and have looped ends l8 arranged within the rabbets as best shown in Figure 8. Steel bars M are 25 inserted in the loops to tie adjoining slabs together. The reinforcing wires are inclined slightly with relation to the horizontal axis of the slabsand those portions of the reinforcing wires within the rabbets are crimped after passage of the 30 bars through the loops. For this purpose a key 20, best shown in Figure 7, having a notch 2! in the end is placed astride of the wire and given a twist to form the crimp 22, best shown in Figure 8. 35

The loop l8 may be formed by a template, best shown in Figure 9, comprising a frame 23 of right angular contour which may be placed against the plane face and one end face of the slab. The frame is provided with a pin 24 which is remov- 4 ably disposed in superposed members 25 of the template and around which the wire may be deformed to provide the terminal loop.

The loops are formed in the ends of the wires in such manner that the centers of the loops 00- ,5 incide with the vertical center line of the groove It, so that when the steel bars l9 have been inserted into the vertical opening thus formed by the loops, each four contiguous slabs are rigidly locked together. To facilitate the work of setting the slabs in the wall the loops'in the wires are formed somewhat larger than the diameter of the bars used in forming the ties, and for the purpose of disposing the loops in tight contact with the bars and the slabs into tight contact with each other, this tight engagement is enhanced by the crimps 22 subsequently formed in the wires.

The half length slabs are used to commence each vertical tier of slabs and likewise one-half length slabs are used to effect closure of each tier at the top of the wall and below and above openings in the Wall. In both the half length slab and the full length slab the reinforcing wires are symmetrically spaced with reference to both ends and the horizontal center lin of the slabs so that the Wires will bear the same relation to each other regardless of which slab is on the front or on the back of the wall or which end of the slab is at the top or bottom. 7

It will be noted that one side of the slab is smooth and this side is intended'to form a portion of the wall surface, either inside or outside. The other side of the slab is concave, approximately a semi-ellipse, and this side is intended to form an air space, substantially elliptical in cross section when two slabs are superposed one against the other with the concave surfaces directly abutting, in which position one slab forms the inside wall surface and the other the outside wall surface.

The process of erection of a wall with these slabs is illustrated in Figure 3. Two vertical tiers of slabs are started, with a full length slab on front and a half on the back of the Wall in the first tier, commencing at the corner .of a building which is shown in broken line-s at 25. The tie is then made by inserting the tie rod iii in the aligned eyes 58 of the reinforcing wires I]. After the tie has been made the pocket or groove is filled with mortar to half slabheight. This procedure continues until the height is reached at which the wall is to be built and half length slabs again are required to complete the wall at the top.

It will be noted by referring to Figure 3 that the completed portion of the wall has assumed the shape of a right angled triangle the hypotenuse of which extends from the upper left hand corner of the wall to the base at the right and it is observed that the erection will progress with this same angle of depression, left to right, until the wall is completed by closing out the triangle in the upper right hand corner.

Because of this distinctive feature in the progress of the work, a movable platform, on the order of an enlarged step ladder, with the slope equal to and in the same direction as the progress of the work, is very advantageously used in setting up the slabs, in lieu of scaffolding, the platform being rolled or skidded along as the work progresses.

In the drawings the slabs shown are intended for straight vertical wall construction, but the scope of the invention extends to circular or cylindrical Walls as well, for the construction of circular reservoirs, silos, smoke stacks, sewers, culverts, arched or cylindrical horizontal construction. In all types of circular construction the edges of the slabs are made radial to the center of the circle instead of square as shown on the drawings.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

Wall construction comprising slabs each having a plane outer side and a transversely curved half oval inner side, the ends of the slabs being rabbeted, the slabs being assembled with the half oval sides of two contiguous slabs confronting each other .and forming air columns of oval crass section, the rabbets of four contiguous slabs forming channels .to receive tie elements, reinforcing Wires imbedded in the slabs and having looped ends arranged Within the channels formed by the rabbets, and tie elements inserted through said looped ends, said reinforcing wires at said looped ends being crimped to bind the looped ends tightly upon the tie elements.

THOMAS L. WOLFE. 

